Presence detection based on crowd surfing signal strength

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving wireless signals from consumer devices that are in communicable range of the merchant device. The wireless signals each include a unique identifier associated with one of the consumer devices. The method further comprises generating signal strength data that includes one signal strength value associated with the unique identifier of each of the wireless signals, storing the signal strength data in a data storage device, analyzing the signal strength data to determine how many of the consumer devices achieved various signal strength levels, determining a threshold signal strength value based on the analysis, determining a consumer device is present within a physical area when a subsequent wireless signal from a subsequent consumer device is greater than the threshold signal strength value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/495,194, filed Oct. 6, 2021 which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/813,954, filed Mar. 10, 2020 (now U.S. Pat. No.11,172,330), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/225,165, filed Dec. 19, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,631,124), which isa continuation of U.S patent application Ser. No. 15/598,774, filed May18, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,200,817), which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/846,288, filed Sep. 4, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No.9,693,193), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/638,703, filed Mar. 4, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,154,916), which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/841,247, filed Mar. 15,2013 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,002,375), each of which are herebyincorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate, generally, to facilitatinginteractions between consumer devices and merchant devices.

BACKGROUND

Electronically detecting the presence of a consumer allows merchants toprovide enhanced services. For example, detecting that a consumer iswithin a store (e.g., as opposed to merely walking by), at a register orcounter, in a certain section, or the like may be leveraged to provide asuitable service based on the location. In this regard, areas forimproving current systems have been identified. Through applied effort,ingenuity, and innovation, solutions to improve such systems have beenrealized and are described in connection with embodiments of the presentinvention.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In general, embodiments provided herein may include systems, methods andcomputer readable media for determining the presence of a consumerwithin a physical area, such as within a merchant's shop. For example,provided herein is a method for determining the presence of a mobiledevice (e.g., a mobile device held by a consumer, or “consumer device”)that may include:

According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a methodcomprises receiving, by a merchant device, wireless signals fromconsumer devices that are in communicable range of the merchant device.The wireless signals each include a unique identifier associated withone of the consumer devices. The method further comprises generatingsignal strength data that includes at least one signal strength valueassociated with the unique identifier of each of the wireless signals,storing the signal strength data in a data storage device, accessing thesignal strength data from the data storage device, analyzing the signalstrength data to determine how many of the consumer devices achievedvarious signal strength levels, determining a threshold signal strengthvalue based, at least in part, on the analyzing of how many of theconsumer devices achieved the various signal strength levels,determining a consumer device is present within a physical area when asubsequent wireless signal from a subsequent consumer device is greaterthan the threshold signal strength value and determining the subsequentconsumer device is outside the physical area when the subsequentwireless signal from the subsequent consumer device is less than thethreshold signal strength value.

According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, amerchant device comprises a wireless receiver configured to receivewireless signals from consumer devices that are in communicable range ofthe merchant device, wherein the wireless signals each include a uniqueidentifier associated with one of the consumer devices, generate signalstrength data that includes at least one signal strength valueassociated with the unique identifier of each of the wireless signals,store the signal strength data in a data storage device, access thesignal strength data from the data storage device, analyze the signalstrength data to determine how many of the consumer devices achievedvarious signal strength levels, determine a threshold signal strengthvalue based, at least in part, on the analyzing of how many of theconsumer devices achieved the various signal strength levels, determinea consumer device is present within a physical area when a subsequentwireless signal from a subsequent consumer device is greater than thethreshold signal strength value and determine the subsequent consumerdevice is outside the physical area when the subsequent wireless signalfrom the subsequent consumer device is less than the threshold signalstrength value.

According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, acomputer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium and computer program instructions stored therein, thecomputer program instructions comprising program instructions configuredto receive, by a merchant device, wireless signals from consumer devicesthat are in communicable range of the merchant device. The wirelesssignals each include a unique identifier associated with one of theconsumer devices. The program instructions are further configured togenerate signal strength data that includes at least one signal strengthvalue associated with the unique identifier of each of the wirelesssignals, store the signal strength data in a data storage device, accessthe signal strength data from the data storage device, analyze thesignal strength data to determine how many of the consumer devicesachieved various signal strength levels, determine a threshold signalstrength value based, at least in part, on the analyze of how many ofthe consumer devices achieved the various signal strength levels,determine a consumer device is present within a physical area when asubsequent wireless signal from a subsequent consumer device is greaterthan the threshold signal strength value and determine the subsequentconsumer device is outside the physical area when the subsequentwireless signal from the subsequent consumer device is less than thethreshold signal strength value.

Some embodiments may include one or more machines, such as an apparatusand/or system, configured to implement the methods and/or otherfunctionality discussed herein. For example, the machine may include oneor more processors and/or other machine components configured toimplement the functionality discussed herein based on instructionsand/or other data stored in memory and/or other non-transitory computerreadable media. These characteristics as well as additional features,functions, and details of the present invention are described below.Similarly, corresponding and additional embodiments are also describedbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described some embodiments in general terms, reference willnow be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarilydrawn to scale, and wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B shows flow charts of example methods for collectingsignal strength data from a consumer device performed in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of an example method for determining athreshold signal strength value performed in accordance with someembodiments;

FIGS. 3A-3C show example relationships that may be determined via signalstrength data in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an example method for determining thepresence of a consumer within a physical area performed in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows an example merchant's shop in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 6 shows an example system for determining consumer presenceconfigured in accordance with some embodiments; and

FIG. 7 shows an example schematic block diagram of circuitry configuredin accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments will be described more fully hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodimentscontemplated herein are shown. Indeed, various embodiments may beimplemented in many different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodimentsare provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information” and similarterms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of beingcaptured, transmitted, received, displayed and/or stored in accordancewith various example embodiments. Thus, use of any such terms should notbe taken to limit the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further, wherea computing device is described herein to receive data from anothercomputing device, it will be appreciated that the data may be receiveddirectly from the another computing device or may be received indirectlyvia one or more intermediary computing devices, such as, for example,one or more servers, relays, routers, network access points, basestations, and/or the like. Similarly, where a computing device isdescribed herein to send data to another computing device, it will beappreciated that the data may be sent directly to the another computingdevice or may be sent indirectly via one or more intermediary computingdevices, such as, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers,network access points, base stations, and/or the like.

Embodiments discussed herein may be configured to allow a merchant todetermine the presence of a consumer (e.g., via a mobile device carriedby the consumer and/or other type of machine) within a given physicalarea. Examples of physical areas may include the inside of a merchant'sshop, a room within a building, another type of walled area, and/or anon-walled area within a larger area (e.g., portion of a large boxstore, department of a department store, table at a restaurant,seating/observation section at an arena, area within a predetermineddistance of an outside location, and/or other type of defined area). Assuch, by determining when a person's device is present, some embodimentsmay extrapolate when a consumer is present, such as after entering amerchant's shop (e.g., as opposed to merely walking by the shop). Otherexample physical areas may include areas in proximity to (e.g., near orwithin a predetermined distance of) a point of sale device, kiosk,aisle, information desk, display, counter, dine-in location (e.g., atable), or any other device having a receiver that may wirelesslycommunicate with the consumer's device.

Embodiments discussed herein seek to utilize statistics related to thesignal strength versus time and/or the number of devices that aredetected within a range of signal strengths, among other data, todynamically and programmatically determine when a device is “present” ina given area. In some embodiments, multiple signal strengths may beassociated with a device during a session. As referred to herein, a“session” is defined as beginning when a device's transmitter is firstdetected as being in communicable range by a receiver and ends when thetransmitter is no longer in communicable range. For example, when a userenters an area within range of a receiver, the session may begin. Whenthe user leaves the area, the session may end. During the session, thereceiver can log and/or otherwise store data related to the detectedsignal strength of the device and/or other parameters, including time.

During a session, multiple signal strengths may be detected and/orlogged for any given device. In some embodiments, only one signalstrength value may be stored and associated with the device's uniqueidentifier at the end of the session. In such embodiments, the signal,saved signal strength may be the maximum signal strength detected duringthe session for the device. As such, some embodiments can be configuredto utilize machine intelligence to learn (e.g., in real-time, includingnear real-time as referenced herein) what different signal strengths (ormaximum signal strengths detected during a session) mean in differentenvironments. For example, in relatively open environment where consumerdevices are used while held in hand, the signal strength may berelatively proportionate to distance (e.g., the stronger the signalstrength, the closer the transmitter is to the receiver). However, inother environments and/or when used in other manners, the signalstrength may not be linearly proportionate to the distance between thereceiver and the transmitter. For example, the transmitter may be in acellular phone that is kept in a purse or bag, thus its signal strengthmay be lower than a phone that is being held in hand farther away.However, a phone being held in hand may not be detected for the sameamount of time as a phone in a purse that is in a store. Thus, machineintelligence could be used to determine the signal strength versus timestatistics and extrapolate which devices are located within a givenarea, and which are not.

Additional, non-signal strength data may also be used in someembodiments to weight signal strength data that is collected. Forexample, signal strength data of a device that is used to complete apayment transaction (e.g., facilitate the purchase of a product and/orredemption of a discount offer, such as a coupon) can cause thatdevice's past signal strength history to be used as basis a signalstrength signature of a device that is present in an area. As such,embodiments discussed herein can be configured to collect signalstrength data from multiple devices and analyze the data to determinewhich devices are present within a predefined area. Some examples of howthis may be implemented are discussed herein.

Collecting Signal Strength Data

FIG. 1A shows a flow chart of an example method 100A for collectingsignal strength data from a consumer device during a session, which maybe performed in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,method 100A may be performed by a “merchant device” configured to detectthe presence of mobile device held by consumers, or “consumer devices.”The merchant device may be a point of sale device or any other device ofthe merchant, such as a dedicated wireless presence detector. Theconsumer device may be any mobile devices that transmit wirelesssignals, such as mobile phone, smartphone, portable digital assistant(PDA), PDA phone, device equipped with global positioning system, and/orthe like. Either the consumer device or the merchant device, or bothcould be moveable or remain stationary depending on variousapplications.

While method 100A is described as being performed by a merchant device,some or all of the steps can also be performed by a central system.Furthermore, method 100A describes collecting signal strength data froma single consumer device, but may be performed to collect (e.g.,simultaneously) signal strength data from multiple consumer devices.

The term “central system” as used herein refers to any marketing system,payment processing system, coupon provider system, and/or any other typeof promotional system controlled by a merchant, third party and/or anyother type of user (e.g., such as hardware provider, softwareapplication developer, online retailer, brick-and-mortar retailer,etc.). The central system may be accessible via one or more computingdevices and may be operable to provide example promotion and/ormarketing services on behalf of one or more providers that are offeringone or more vouchers that are redeemable for goods, services,experiences and/or the like. The central system may be furtherconfigured to illustrate or otherwise inform one or more consumers ofthe availability of one or more vouchers (e.g., deals) in the form ofone or more offers. In some examples, the central system may also takethe form of a redemption authority or payment processor, it may providerewards indications and/or it may function as an entity within afinancial network. As such, the central system is, in some exampleembodiments, configured to present one or more offers, accept paymentsfor offers from both merchants and consumers, upon acceptance of anoffer, issue vouchers, indicate whether a voucher is valid for thepurpose of redemption, generate rewards, provide a point of sale deviceor otherwise participate in the exchange of goods, services orexperiences for currency and/or the like. In some embodiments discussedherein, the central system is referred to as a networked device.

Method 100A may start at step 102 and proceed to step 104, where themerchant device may be configured to listen for wireless signals. Forexample, the merchant device may be configured to connect with consumerdevices that enter within a communicable range where data/signals can betransmitted and achieved between the merchant device and consumerdevice. In some embodiments, the local connection may be an unsecurednetwork such as a personal area network (PAN), Bluetooth connection,public Wi-Fi connection, near field communication connection, etc. Assuch, the merchant device may be configured to listen to wirelesssignals from consumer devices via the local connection. Some embodimentsmay utilize a more secure connection (e.g., Wired Equivalent Privacy(WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WIPA), Wi-Fi protected Access version 2(WPA2), etc.).

At step 106, the merchant device may be configured to determine whethera wireless signal has been detected from a consumer device. The wirelesssignal may include signals for creating the connection between themerchant device and the consumer device. In other examples, when thelocal connection between the merchant device and a consumer device isformed, the devices may be configured to pass a variety of differentinformation via wireless signals. For example, data may be passed thatallows the merchant device to discover the identity of the consumer, toprovide consumer information to the merchant device, to providemerchant, products, and/or promotional offer information to the consumerdevice, to make payments via consumer device, or the like. Additionallyand/or alternatively, the wireless signal may simply include noise,random data, or the like. Virtually any communication may be used todetermine whether a wireless signal has been detected from the consumerdevice. In some embodiments, one or more of the wireless signals passedin method 100A may be configured for the purpose of signal strengthdetermination. If no wireless signals are detected, method 100A mayreturn to step 104. If the wireless signal is detected, a timing device(e.g., clock, timer and/or other mechanism for tracking elapsed time)may start and method 100A may proceed to step 108.

At step 108, the merchant device may be configured to determine a signalstrength of the wireless signal. Signal strength may generally providean indication regarding the proximity of the consumer device that sentthe wireless signal to the merchant device. For example, the strongerthe signal strength, the closer the consumer device is likely to be withrespect to the merchant device. In some embodiments, the merchant devicemay be configured to use received signal strength indication (RSSI) todetermine the signal strength of the wireless signal. However, othertechniques for determining signal strength and/or consumer deviceproximity may be used. In some examples, however, the signal strengthmay not be the only factor to determine the consumer device proximity.For example, signals sent by a consumer device in a direct line of sightfrom farther away may have stronger signal strength than signals sent bya consumer device around a corner. The signal strength may be determinedas the maximum signal strength value.

At step 110, the merchant device may be configured to determine whetherit has detected a new wireless signal from the consumer device. Thediscussion above at step 106 may be applicable at step 110. If no newwireless signal is in receipt by the merchant device, the merchantdevice may be configured to determine a duration time for the signalstrength at step 116. The duration time represents the amount of timethat the consumer device transmitted wireless signals at the signalstrength, which may indicate an amount of time the consumer device was acertain distance from the merchant device. The duration time may bedetermined based on the timing device started at step 106. Then method100A may be ended at step 120.

On the other hand, when the merchant device detects a new wirelesssignal, method 100A may proceed to step 112. At step 112, the merchantdevice may be configured to determine a signal strength of the newwireless signal. The discussion above at step 108 may be applicable atstep 112.

The merchant device may be configured to compare signal strength of thewireless signals associated with each consumer device to determine andstore the maximum signal strength value of that consumer device. Forexample at step 114, the merchant device may be configured to comparethe signal strength determined at step 108 to the new signal strengthdetermined at step 112. In an instance in which the signal strength isgreater than the new signal strength, the maximum signal strength valuemay retain the signal strength of the wireless signal received at step106. Method 100A may return to step 110 and awaiting a subsequentwireless signal.

In an instance in which the signal strength of the wireless signalreceived at step 106 is less than the new signal strength, the merchantdevice may be configured to determine the new signal strength as themaximum signal strength value at step 118. Then the merchant device isawaiting and listening to a subsequent wireless signal from the consumerdevice at step 110. The new wireless signal may become a previouswireless signal and be compared to signal strength of the subsequentwireless signal at step 114. In this case, the new signal strength valuemay be stored in the memory of merchant device.

FIG. 1B shows a flow chart of an example method 100B for collectingsignal strength data from a consumer device during a session, which maybe performed in accordance with some embodiments.

Method 100B may start at step 122 and proceed to step 124, where themerchant device may be configured to listen for wireless signals. Forexample, the merchant device may be configured to connect with consumerdevices that enter within a communicable range where data/signals can betransmitted and achieved between the merchant device and consumerdevice. In some embodiments, the local connection may be an unsecurednetwork such as a personal area network (PAN), Bluetooth connection,public Wi-Fi connection, near field communication connection, etc. Assuch, the merchant device may be configured to listen to wirelesssignals from consumer devices via the local connection. Some embodimentsmay utilize a more secure connection (e.g., Wired Equivalent Privacy(WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WIPA), Wi-Fi protected Access version 2(WPA2), etc.).

At step 126, the merchant device may be configured to determine whethera wireless signal has been detected from a consumer device. The firstwireless signal may include signals for creating the connection betweenthe merchant device and the consumer device. In other examples, when thelocal connection between the merchant device and a consumer device isformed, the devices may be configured to pass a variety of differentinformation via wireless signals. For example, data may be passed thatallows the merchant device to discover the identity of the consumer, toprovide consumer information to the merchant device, to providemerchant, products, and/or promotional offer information to the consumerdevice, to make payments via consumer device, or the like. Additionallyand/or alternatively, the first wireless signal may simply includenoise, random data, or the like. Virtually any communication may be usedto determine whether a first wireless signal has been detected from theconsumer device. In some embodiments, one or more of the wirelesssignals may be passed in method 100B may be configured for the purposeof signal strength determination. If no wireless signals are detected,method 100B may return to step 124.

If the first wireless signal is detected, method 100B may proceed tostep 128. At step 128, the merchant device may be configured todetermine a first signal strength of the first wireless signal. Signalstrength may generally provide an indication regarding the proximity ofthe consumer device that sent the first wireless signal to the merchantdevice. For example, the stronger the signal strength, the closer theconsumer device is likely to be with respect to the merchant device. Insome embodiments, the merchant device may be configured to use receivedsignal strength indication (RSSI) to determine the first signal strengthof the first wireless signal. However, other techniques for determiningsignal strength and/or consumer device proximity may be used. In someexamples, however, the signal strength may not be the only factor todetermine the consumer device proximity. For example, signals sent by aconsumer device in a direct line of sight from farther away may havestronger signal strength than signals sent by a consumer device around acorner. In one embodiment, the first signal strength may be determinedas the maximum signal strength value.

At step 130, the merchant device may be configured to start the timingdevice that is configured to measure one or more units of time. At step132, the merchant device may be configured to wait a predetermined time.In some embodiments, this predetermined time may act as a pollingfrequency at which signal strength data is being acquired, therebydefining a polling interval between consecutive signal strength dataacquisitions for the same consumer device. The predetermined time couldbe set lower, for example, to acquire larger data sets. Thepredetermined time could also be set higher, for example, to conservepower (e.g., of consumer and/or merchant devices) or avoid excessivedata generation. In various embodiments, the merchant device may beconfigured to allow a merchant and/or the central system to set thepredetermined time. For example, in some embodiments, units of time maybe defined by the number of polling intervals. As another example, theunits of time may be defined as a fraction of a second (e.g., 10milliseconds).

At step 134, the merchant device may be configured to determine whetherit has detected a second wireless signal from the consumer device afterthe predetermined time. The discussion above at step126 may beapplicable at step 134. When the merchant device detects the secondwireless signal after the predetermined time, method 100B may proceed tostep 136.

At step 136, the merchant device may be configured to determine a secondsignal strength of the second wireless signal. The discussion above atstep 128 may be applicable at 116.

At step 138, the merchant device may be configured to determine whetherthe first signal strength is the same (e.g., within a predeterminedmargin of error, tolerance, etc.) as second signal strength. If firstsignal strength is the same as the second signal strength, method 100Bmay return to step 132. The timing device started at step 130 is notrestarted (e.g., continues counting or “running”) and the merchantdevice waits another cycle of the predetermined time, attempts to detectanother wireless signal from the consumer device, and so forth.

Returning to step 138, when the first signal strength is determined tobe different (e.g., outside the predetermined margin of error,tolerance, etc.) as the second signal strength, method 100B may proceedto step 140.

At step 140, the merchant device may be configured to determine aduration time for the first signal strength. The duration timerepresents the amount of time that the consumer device transmittedwireless signals at the first signal strength, which may indicate anamount of time the consumer device was a certain distance from themerchant device. The duration time may be determined based on the timingdevice started at step 130, which may include one or more accumulationsof the predetermined time discussed at step 132.

At step 142, the merchant device may be configured to store the durationtime and the first signal strength. In some embodiments, the signalstrength data generated by method 100B may include the duration time ofthe first signal strength and the first signal strength. The signalstrength data may be stored in a memory of merchant device. Additionallyand/or alternatively, the signal strength data could be sent to acentral system for storage and/or processing.

At step 144, the timing device may be reset. Method 100B may then returnto 112, where the merchant device may be configured to wait thepredetermined time before attempting to detect another wireless signalfrom the consumer device, and so forth.

Returning, the step 134, if the merchant device does not detect thesecond wireless signal after the predetermined time, method 100B mayproceed to step 146. Here, the consumer device may have moved outside ofa communicable range of the local connection. As discussed above, method100B may be performed to gather signal strength data, which may beleveraged to determine a consumer's location within a physical area. Assuch, the local connection may be configured such that the communicablerange between the consumer device and the merchant device is greaterthan the physical area when signal strength data at such distances aredesired.

At step 146, the merchant device may be configured to determine aduration time for the first signal strength. The discussion above atstep140 may be applicable at step 146. At 18, the merchant device may beconfigured to store the duration time and the first signal strength(e.g., as signal strength data). The discussion above at step142 may beapplicable at step 148. Method 100B may then end at step 150.

In some embodiments, method 100B may be performed when the merchantdevice is moved. The merchant device may be configured to remainrelatively stationary during operation such that collected signalstrength data remains accurate. For example, the merchant device may bea POS device stationed at a counter, checkout, or the like. When themerchant device is moved for any purpose, method 100B may be performed.Additionally and/or alternatively, method 100B may be performed atvarious times (e.g., scheduled, as requested, etc.) to address merchantdevice movement and/or sensor recalibration.

Determining a Threshold Signal Strength Value

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of an example method 200 for determining athreshold signal strength value, or “threshold value,” performed inaccordance with some embodiments. The threshold value, as used herein,refers to a value of signal strength that marks the difference betweenthe consumer device being within a physical area or outside of thephysical. In some embodiments, method 200 may be performed after methods100A or 100B, such as by using the signal strength data determined viamethods 100A or 100B.

Method 200 is described as being performed by a merchant device, butsome or all of the steps can also be performed by a central system. Forexample, in some embodiments, data collection (e.g., methods 100A and100B) can be handled by the merchant device while the data processing ofmethod 200 may be performed by the central system. The central systemmay be configured to perform method 200 for a plurality of differentmerchant device, associated with the same merchant or with differentmerchants.

Method 200 may begin at step 202 and proceed to step 204, where themerchant device may be configured to determine the signal strength data.The signal strength data may be data collected from multiple consumerdevices and/or over a period of time that involves many sessions withone or more consumer devices. The period of time, for example, may behourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc. In some embodiments, the period oftime may be predetermined and/or configured by the merchant and/orcentral system based on how many and how frequently sessions occur.

In some embodiments, determining the signal strength data may includeperforming methods 100A or 100B. For example, the merchant device may beconfigured to access signal strength data that the merchant devicecollected and/or stored. To avoid unnecessarily overcomplicating thediscussion, method 200 is referred to as being executed by a merchantdevice. However, in some embodiments, method 200 (like other methodsdiscussed herein) can be partially or wholly performed by a centralsystem, a central merchant device (i.e., master/server device that isseparate from the device(s) having the signal strength detector/receivercomponents), a second merchant device (a peer device), or some deviceother than the device used for collecting the signal strength data. Insuch embodiments, the other device(s) may be configured to receive thesignal strength data from the collecting device (e.g., in real-time ascollection takes place or as a batch of data). The signal strength datamay be received via the local connection (e.g., PAN, Bluetooth, etc.)and/or may be received via any other wired and/or wirelessconnection(s), including the Internet.

At step 206, the merchant device may be configured to determine a numberof consumer devices associated with different signal strength levels.Because the signal strength data may include information (e.g.,identifier) that is unique to a specific mobile device, the merchantdevice may classify the number of consumer devices according to signalstrength levels based on the signal strength data. An examplerelationship between the number of consumer devices and signal strengthvalues is shown in example chart 300 in FIG. 3A, where signal strengthvalues is shown at 302 and number of consumer devices is shown at 304.The example relationship shown may be applicable to a retailer at amall, where appreciably more consumers walk by the shop than enter theshop. In some embodiments, each signal strength value may represent themaximum signal strength value collected from a device during a session,examples of which are discussed above. Here, the number of consumerdevices falls quickly at signal strengths between 1.0-1.5 dB at 306,which may indicate that the threshold value for determining presencebased on signal strength in this example environment could be set at1.0-1.5 dB.

The example relationship shown in chart 300 is also shown in graph 320in FIG. 3B, where the signal strength is shown along axis 322 and thenumber of consumer devices and/or sessions is shown along axis 324.Here, plot 326 represents the example relationship and the thresholdvalue (e.g., at 1.0-1.5 dB) is shown at 328.

Returning to FIG. 2 , at step 208 of method 200, the merchant device maybe configured to determine an average duration for different signalstrength levels. The relationship between average duration and thedifferent signal strength levels may be determined based on the signalstrength data. FIG. 3C shows an example chart 340 that includes anexample relationship between signal strength (e.g., shown at 342) andaverage duration time (e.g., shown at 344). The duration at whichconsumer devices are recorded at various signal strengths may determinethe signal strengths that correspond with being within the physicalarea. Returning to the example of a retail store at the mall, consumersthat enter the shop will typically stay longer and as such, will bedetected by the merchant device for greater durations, than consumersthat simply walk past the shop. Here, the duration time in which aparticular signal strength is detected increases quickly at signalstrengths between 1.0-1.5 dB at 346, which may indicate that thethreshold value for signal strength could be set at 1.0-1.5 dB. However,in some embodiments, step 208, like other functionality discussed hereinmay be omitted. For example, embodiments such as those consistent withFIG. 1A may omit step 208, because it would make little difference howlong a signal strength is attained when the maximum signal strength isof primary importance for determining presence.

At 210, the merchant device may be configured to determine presence dataunrelated to signal strength (e.g., the signal strength data). Presencedata, as used herein, refers to data related to the presence and/orlocation of consumers other than signal strength data. Some examples ofpresence data are discussed below.

For example and as described above, signal strength may be not the onlyfactor to determine the presence of customers. In some embodiments, aconsumer device may be used to facilitate payment using near fieldcommunication to establish radio communication between the consumerdevice and the merchant device by bringing the consumer device and themerchant device into close proximity. A consumer device may also be usedto facilitate a transaction using Bluetooth wireless technology tocreate personal area network for exchanging data over short distances.As such, the transactions made by these consumer devices using nearfield communication and/or Bluetooth wireless technology may be used todetermine the presence and/or location of consumers.

In another embodiment, a consumer device may be used to complete apurchase of a product by presenting a discount offer, such as a couponthat is scannable. Redemption of the discount offer may indicatepresence of the consumer which can be used to determine the presence ofthe customer. Signal strength data of a consumer device that is used tocomplete payment of transactions may cause the signal strength data tobe weighted and cause that device's past signal strength history to beused as basis of a signal strength signature of a device that is presentin an area.

Still in another embodiment, when consumer devices are equipped withglobal positioning information (GPS), GPS and/or wireless networkinformation may be used to compute the presence and/or location ofconsumers to determine the presence data.

Familiarity may also be used as an addition to the signal strength todetermine the presence of a customer. For example, mobile devices ofladies may send signals with weaker signal strength than those of men'sbecause ladies usually put their mobile devices in their purses whilemen usually put in their pockets. Most customers of a spa store,however, may be ladies. As such, simply using the signal strength maynot be sufficient to determine the presence of customers. Addition offamiliarity may help to enhance the accuracy of determining the presencedata.

In addition to the situations described above, there may be otherinformation that can be used to determine the presence data, such as thenumber of transactions made over a period of time, Wi-Fi userinformation.

At step 212, the merchant device may be configured to determine at leastone threshold value based on the signal strength data and/or thepresence data. The determination may be performed based on one or moreof the determinations at steps 206-210. For example, the threshold valuemay be based on the minimum signal strength that has an average visitlength (e.g., duration) of at least 30 seconds. In some embodiments, thethreshold value suggested by the determinations at steps 206-210 couldbe averaged or otherwise combined to produce the at least one thresholdvalue. Alternatively and/or additionally, techniques may be used tothrow out bad or otherwise unreliable threshold values determined atsteps 206-210.

In some embodiments, the threshold value may also depend on the natureof the wireless signals. For example, the threshold value may be afunction that varies with frequency of the wireless signals, may dependon the nature of the local connection and/or protocols used (e.g.,Bluetooth, DECT, etc.).

At step 214, the merchant device may be configured to wait apredetermined time. The predetermined time may be based on the desirednumber of recalibrations of the threshold value. In some embodiments,the merchant device may include location tracking capability such thatthe merchant device, a second device, and/or the central system may beconfigured to determine that the merchant device has moved. Upondetecting that the merchant device has moved, the predetermined time mayend. Additionally and/or alternatively, the predetermined period of timemay be on a scheduled basis and/or configured by the merchant device,second device and/or central system.

If the predetermined time has ended, method 200 may proceed to step 216.At step 216, the merchant device may be configured to determine whetherto recalibrate the threshold value. In some embodiments, this mayinclude determining whether the merchant device has moved such that therecalibration is needed. If recalibration of the threshold value isneeded, method 200 may return to step 204. If recalibration is notneeded, method 200 may return to step 214.

Determining Consumer Presence

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an example method 400 for determining thepresence of a consumer within a physical area, performed in accordancewith some embodiments. Method 400 may be performed after methods 100A or100B, where signal strength data is collected, and method 200, where athreshold value is determined based on the signal strength data. In someembodiments, method 400 may be performed by the same device thatperformed methods 100A, 100B and/or 200. In one example, a merchantdevice may perform methods 100A, 100B and 400, while the central systemmay perform method 200. In another example, the merchant device mayperform methods 100A, 100B, 200 and 400.

Method 400 may start at step 402 and proceed to step 404, where themerchant device may be configured to listen for wireless signals. Atstep 406, the merchant device may be configured to determine whether awireless signal has been detected. If the wireless signal is notdetected (e.g., no consumer devices within communicable range), method400 may return to step 404. If the wireless signal is detected, method400 may proceed to step 408, where the merchant device may be configuredto determine a signal strength of the wireless signal. The discussionabove at steps 104, 106 and 108 of method 100A, steps 122, 126 and 128of method 100B may be applicable at steps 404, 406 and 408,respectively.

At 410, the merchant device may be configured to determine whether thesignal strength is greater than (which may include equal to) thethreshold value (e.g., as determined via method 200). If the signalstrength is greater than the threshold value, method 400 may proceed tostep 412, where the merchant device may be configured to determine thatthe consumer is present in a physical area. As discussed above, highsignal strength indicates that the consumer device is closer to themerchant device relative to a location with low signal strength. Thethreshold value may act as the signal strength level that marks theboundary of the physical area.

At step 414, the merchant device may be configured to provide in-areaservices. An in-area service, as used herein, refers to any service thatis relevant to consumers within the physical area. For example, if thephysical area is the inside of a restaurant, in-area services mayinclude placing the consumer in a seating wait list and/or assigning theconsumer to a table. In another example, if the physical area is theinside of a retail store, the in-area services may include sending asales representative. In yet another example, if the physical area isnear a point of sale device, information desk, product display, orkiosk, a suitable employee of the merchant may be sent to the consumerto provide assistance and/or a suitable promotional offer may be sent tothe consumer device.

FIG. 5 shows an example merchant's shop 500, in accordance with someembodiments. Merchant shop 500 may include a physical area 502, which isshown as the interior of merchant shop 500. One or more merchant devices504 and 506 may be located within merchant shop 500. A wireless receiver(not shown) may be configured to receive wireless signals from consumerdevices C1-C10. Here, consumer devices C1-C7 may be determined to bewithin the physical area 502 (e.g., upon entering via entrance 512), andaccordingly, may be provided with in-area services.

Returning to step 410, if the signal strength is determined to be lessthan the threshold value, method 400 may proceed to step 416. At step416, the merchant device may be configured to determine that theconsumer is present outside of the physical area. As shown in FIG. 5 ,consumer devices C8-C10 are shown as being outside of physical area 502.

At step 418, the merchant device may be configured to provideoutside-area services. An outside-area service, as used herein, refersto any service that is relevant to consumers outside the physical area.For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the physical area may be an indoorseating area at a restaurant that also includes an outdoor seating area,such as terrace 508. As such, dining services may be provided to theconsumer of consumer device C8. Additionally and/or alternatively, themerchant may leverage multiple merchant devices. For example, merchantdevice 510 may be used for a physical area defined by terrace 508 whilemerchant devices 504 and/or 506 may each be used for some or all of thephysical area 502. In some embodiments, the use of multiple merchantdevices for the same physical area may allow for more accurate consumerdevice location determination, such as via signal triangulation. In someembodiments, the merchant device may be configured to perform nooutside-area services for the consumer (e.g., a passerby, such asconsumer devices C9 and C10 shown in FIG. 5 ). Method 400 may then end.

Exemplary System Architecture

FIG. 6 shows system 600 including an example network architecture, whichmay include one or more devices and sub-systems that are configured toimplement some embodiments discussed herein. For example, system 600 mayinclude central system 602, which can include, for example, centralserver 604 and central database 606, among other things (not shown).Central server 604 may be any suitable network server, a plurality ofnetworked servers, and/or other type of processing device. Centraldatabase 606 may be any suitable network database configured to storeinformation that may be used to facilitate the techniques as discussedherein. In this regard, system 602 may include, for example, at leastone backend data server, network database, cloud computing device, amongother things.

Central system 602 may be coupled to one or more merchant devices (e.g.,merchant device 610) via network 608. In this regard, network 608 mayinclude any wired or wireless communication network including, forexample, a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), personal areanetwork (PAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN),mobile broadband network, or the like, as well as any hardware, softwareand/or firmware required to implement it (such as, e.g., networkrouters, etc.). For example, network 608 may include a cellulartelephone, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, and/or WiMax network. Further, thenetwork 608 may include a public network, such as the Internet, aprivate network, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and mayutilize a variety of networking protocols now available or laterdeveloped including, but not limited to TCP/IP based networkingprotocols.

Merchant device 610 may be associated with a merchant, such as a retailstore, restaurant, etc. or one or more employees of the merchant. Insome embodiments, merchant device 610 may be a POS device that isconfigured to receive payments at the merchant's shop. As such, merchantdevice 610 may include a personal computer and/or other networkeddevice, such as a cellular phone, tablet computer, mobile device, etc.,that may be used for any suitable purpose in addition to providing POSfunctionality at the restaurant.

System 600 may further include one or more consumer devices (e.g.,consumer device 612). Consumer device 612 may connect with merchantdevice 610 via network 608 and/or PAN network 616. As such, consumerdevice 612 may be configured to communicate with merchant device 610 viaPAN network 616 even if consumer device 612 and/or merchant device 610do not have active connections with network 608.

In some embodiments, central system 600 may further include one or morethird party systems (e.g., third party system 614), among other things.In some embodiments, different third party systems may be associatedwith different types of payment sources or payment destinations forpayments made via consumer device. Thus for each payment source ordestination, data may be sent to an appropriate third party system(e.g., a credit card transaction server, a bank account, etc.) tovalidate and/or process payments. Furthermore, employee accounts,merchant accounts, and/or consumer payment accounts may be associatedwith one or more third party accounts that are provided by third partysystem 2714. In some embodiments, one or more third party servers may beconfigured to perform the functionality described herein with respect tocentral system 602.

In some embodiments, central system 602 may be a multi-tenant databasesystem configured to provide services to a plurality of consumers andmerchants. Additionally and/or alternatively, central system 602 may beconfigured to include, or work in connection with, online orderingsystems (e.g., shop online and pickup), promotional systems (e.g., dealvoucher accounts, rewards, offerings, purchases, and redemptions, wherethe value of a redeemed voucher may be deducted from the payment),merchant systems (e.g., kitchen systems for restaurants), and/orappointment systems (e.g., scheduling a reservation at a restaurant). Assuch, the techniques disclosed herein may be applicable to anyenvironment that involves consumer and merchants.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic block diagram of circuitry 700, some or all ofwhich may be included in, for example, central system 604, consumerdevice 612, and/or merchant device 610. In accordance with some exampleembodiments, circuitry 700 may include various means, such as one ormore processors 702, memories 704, communications modules 706, and/orinput/output modules 708.

In some embodiments, such as when circuitry 700 is included in merchantdevice 610 and/or central system 602, presence detection module 710 mayalso or instead be included. As referred to herein, “module” includeshardware, software and/or firmware configured to perform one or moreparticular functions described herein. In this regard, the means ofcircuitry 700 as described herein may be embodied as, for example,circuitry, hardware elements (e.g., a suitably programmed processor,combinational logic circuit, and/or the like), a computer programproduct comprising computer-readable program instructions stored on anon-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 704) that isexecutable by a suitably configured processing device (e.g., processor702), or some combination thereof.

Processor 702 may, for example, be embodied as various means includingone or more microprocessors with accompanying digital signalprocessor(s), one or more processor(s) without an accompanying digitalsignal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-coreprocessors, one or more controllers, processing circuitry, one or morecomputers, various other processing elements including integratedcircuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integratedcircuit) or FPGA (field programmable gate array), or some combinationthereof. Accordingly, although illustrated in FIG. 7 as a singleprocessor, in some embodiments, processor 702 comprises a plurality ofprocessors. The plurality of processors may be embodied on a singlecomputing device or may be distributed across a plurality of computingdevices collectively configured to function as circuitry 700. Theplurality of processors may be in operative communication with eachother and may be collectively configured to perform one or morefunctionalities of circuitry 700 as described herein. In an exampleembodiment, processor 702 is configured to execute instructions storedin memory 704 or otherwise accessible to processor 702. Theseinstructions, when executed by processor 702, may cause circuitry 700 toperform one or more of the functionalities of circuitry 700 as describedherein.

Whether configured by hardware, firmware/software methods, or by acombination thereof, processor 702 may comprise an entity capable ofperforming operations according to embodiments of the present inventionwhile configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when processor 702 isembodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, processor 702 may comprisespecifically configured hardware for conducting one or more operationsdescribed herein. As another example, when processor 702 is embodied asan executor of instructions, such as may be stored in memory 704, theinstructions may specifically configure processor 702 to perform one ormore algorithms and operations described herein.

Memory 704 may comprise, for example, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, or some combination thereof. Although illustrated in FIG. 7 as asingle memory, memory 704 may comprise a plurality of memory components.The plurality of memory components may be embodied on a single computingdevice or distributed across a plurality of computing devices. Invarious embodiments, memory 704 may comprise, for example, a hard disk,random access memory, cache memory, flash memory, a compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc read only memory (DVD-ROM),an optical disc, circuitry configured to store information, or somecombination thereof. Memory 704 may be configured to store information,data, applications, instructions, or the like for enabling circuitry2800 to carry out various functions in accordance with exampleembodiments discussed herein. For example, in at least some embodiments,memory 704 is configured to buffer input data for processing byprocessor 702. Additionally or alternatively, in at least someembodiments, memory 704 may be configured to store program instructionsfor execution by processor 702. Memory 704 may store information in theform of static and/or dynamic information. This stored information maybe stored and/or used by circuitry 700 during the course of performingits functionalities.

Communications module 706 may be embodied as any device or meansembodied in circuitry, hardware, a computer program product comprisingcomputer readable program instructions stored on a computer readablemedium (e.g., memory 704) and executed by a processing device (e.g.,processor 702), or a combination thereof that is configured to receiveand/or transmit data from/to another device, such as, for example, asecond circuitry 700 and/or the like. In some embodiments,communications module 706 (like other components discussed herein) canbe at least partially embodied as or otherwise controlled by processor702. In this regard, communications module 706 may be in communicationwith processor 702, such as via a bus. Communications module 706 mayinclude, for example, an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, atransceiver, network interface card and/or supporting hardware and/orfirmware/software for enabling communications with another computingdevice. Communications module 706 may be configured to receive and/ortransmit any data that may be stored by memory 704 using any protocolthat may be used for communications between computing devices.Communications module 706 may additionally or alternatively be incommunication with the memory 704, input/output module 708 and/or anyother component of circuitry 700, such as via a bus.

Input/output module 708 may be in communication with processor 702 toreceive an indication of a user input and/or to provide an audible,visual, mechanical, or other output to a user. Some example visualoutputs that may be provided to a user by circuitry 700 are discussed inconnection with the displays described above. As such, input/outputmodule 2808 may include support, for example, for a keyboard, a mouse, ajoystick, a display, an image capturing device, a touch screen display,a microphone, a speaker, a RFID reader, barcode reader, biometricscanner, and/or other input/output mechanisms. In embodiments whereincircuitry 700 is embodied as a server or database, aspects ofinput/output module 708 may be reduced as compared to embodiments wherecircuitry 700 is implemented as an end-user machine (e.g., consumerdevice and/or merchant device) or other type of device designed forcomplex user interactions. In some embodiments (like other componentsdiscussed herein), input/output module 708 may even be eliminated fromcircuitry 700. Alternatively, such as in embodiments wherein circuitry700 is embodied as a server or database, at least some aspects ofinput/output module 708 may be embodied on an apparatus used by a userthat is in communication with circuitry 700, such as for example,merchant device 610 and/or consumer device 612. Input/output module 708may be in communication with memory 704, communications module 706,and/or any other component(s), such as via a bus. Although more than oneinput/output module and/or other component can be included in circuitry700, only one is shown in FIG. 7 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing(like the other components discussed herein).

Presence detection module 710 may also or instead be included andconfigured to perform the functionality discussed herein related toconsumer presence detection. In some embodiments, some or all of thefunctionality may be performed by processor 702. In this regard, theexample processes and algorithms discussed herein can be performed by atleast one processor 702 and/or presence detection module 710. Forexample, non-transitory computer readable storage media can beconfigured to store firmware, one or more application programs, and/orother software, which include instructions and other computer-readableprogram code portions that can be executed to control processors of thecomponents of system 700 to implement various operations, including theexamples shown above. As such, a series of computer-readable programcode portions may be embodied in one or more computer program productsand can be used, with a computing device, server, and/or otherprogrammable apparatus, to produce the machine-implemented processesdiscussed herein.

Any such computer program instructions and/or other type of code may beloaded onto a computer, processor or other programmable apparatus'scircuitry to produce a machine, such that the computer, processor otherprogrammable circuitry that executes the code may be the means forimplementing various functions, including those described herein.

As described above and as will be appreciated based on this disclosure,embodiments of the present invention may be configured as methods,mobile devices, backend network devices, and the like. Accordingly,embodiments may comprise various means including entirely of hardware orany combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments maytake the form of a computer program product on at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilizedincluding non-transitory hard disks, CD-ROMs, flash memory, opticalstorage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described above withreference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatuses, systems and computer program products. Each block of thecircuit diagrams and process flowcharts, and combinations of blocks inthe circuit diagrams and process flowcharts, respectively, can beimplemented by various means including computer program instructions.These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, such as processor 702 and/or presence detectionmodule 710 discussed above with reference to FIG. 7 , to produce amachine, such that the computer program product includes theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus create a means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 704) that can direct acomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufactureincluding computer-readable instructions for implementing the functiondiscussed herein. The computer program instructions may also be loadedonto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions discussed herein.

Accordingly, the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that each block/step of the circuit diagrams and processflowcharts, and combinations of blocks/steps in the circuit diagrams andprocess flowcharts, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedcomputer systems that perform the specified functions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

CONCLUSION

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseembodiments of the invention pertain having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Forexample, while some embodiments discussed herein are used in the contextof merchants and consumers, similar techniques may be applicable toother environments in which a person's presence within a physicallocation needs to be determined. Therefore, it is to be understood thatthe embodiments of the invention are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. (canceled)
 2. A system for programmatically facilitating in-areaservices based on presence detection, the system comprising: at leastone processor; and at least one memory including computer program code,wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code areconfigured to, with the at least one processor, cause the system to:detect a plurality of consumer devices within communicable proximity ofa merchant device based on receipt of one or more wireless signals fromeach of the consumer devices; initiate a consumer device signal strengthsignature session for each consumer device of the plurality of consumerdevices based on the detection of the respective consumer device withincommunicable proximity of the merchant device; determine at least onesignal strength value for each of the one or more wireless signals,storing each signal strength value in association with the correspondingconsumer device signal strength signature session; detect presence dataassociated with at least a first consumer device of the plurality ofconsumer devices; correlate the detected presence data to thecorresponding consumer device signal strength signature session of thefirst consumer device; determine a presence threshold signal strengthsignature based on at least the consumer device signal strengthsignature session of the first consumer device; determine a subsequentconsumer device is present within a defined physical area of themerchant device based on the presence threshold signal strengthsignature; and facilitate at least one in-area service associated withthe subsequent consumer device.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein thepresence threshold signal strength signature defines one or more signalstrength parameters or patterns.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereindetermining the subsequent consumer device is present within the definedphysical area of the merchant device comprises receiving, from thesubsequent consumer device, wireless signals satisfying at least one ofthe one or more signal strength parameters or patterns defined by thepresence threshold signal strength signature.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the wireless signals of the subsequent consumer device otherwisefail to satisfy a minimum signal strength parameter or pattern definedby a threshold signal strength signature.
 6. The system of claim 2,wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code areconfigured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the systemto: determine a second subsequent consumer device is not present withinthe defined physical area of the merchant device based on the presencethreshold signal strength signature.
 7. The system of claim 2, whereinat least one wireless signal from each of the consumer devices comprisesa unique identifier, each unique identifier being respectivelyassociated with a consumer device of the plurality of consumer devices.8. The system of claim 2, wherein the presence data is independent ofthe signal strength values and indicates that the corresponding consumerdevice is within the defined physical area.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the presence data comprises data generated via near fieldcommunication or Bluetooth wireless technology between the merchantdevice and the first consumer device.
 10. The system of claim 8, whereinthe presence data comprises promotion redemption data indicatingredemption of a promotion, coupon, discount offer, or any combinationthereof within the defined physical area.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein the presence data comprises global positioning information (GPS)data.
 12. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one in-areaservice comprises one or more of placing a consumer associated with thefirst consumer device on a wait list, assigning the consumer associatedwith the first consumer device to a table, transmitting a presence-basedpromotional offer to the first consumer device, or dispatching amerchant representative to a location of the first consumer device. 13.A method for programmatically facilitating in-area services based onpresence detection, the method comprising: detecting a plurality ofconsumer devices within communicable proximity of a merchant devicebased on receipt of one or more wireless signals from each of theconsumer devices; initiating a consumer device signal strength signaturesession for each consumer device of the plurality of consumer devicesbased on the detection of the respective consumer device withincommunicable proximity of the merchant device; determining at least onesignal strength value for each of the one or more wireless signals,storing each signal strength value in association with the correspondingconsumer device signal strength signature session; detecting presencedata associated with at least a first consumer device of the pluralityof consumer devices; correlating the detected presence data to thecorresponding consumer device signal strength signature session of thefirst consumer device; determining a presence threshold signal strengthsignature based on at least the consumer device signal strengthsignature session of the first consumer device; determining a subsequentconsumer device is present within a defined physical area of themerchant device based on the presence threshold signal strengthsignature; and facilitating at least one in-area service associated withthe subsequent consumer device.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thepresence threshold signal strength signature defines one or more signalstrength parameters or patterns.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereindetermining the subsequent consumer device is present within the definedphysical area of the merchant device comprises receiving, from thesubsequent consumer device, wireless signals satisfying at least one ofthe one or more signal strength parameters or patterns defined by thepresence threshold signal strength signature.
 16. The method of claim15, wherein the wireless signals of the subsequent consumer deviceotherwise fail to satisfy a minimum signal strength parameter or patterndefined by a threshold signal strength signature.
 17. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codeare configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause thesystem to: determine a second subsequent consumer device is not presentwithin the defined physical area of the merchant device based on thepresence threshold signal strength signature.
 18. The method of claim13, wherein at least one wireless signal from each of the consumerdevices comprises a unique identifier, each unique identifier beingrespectively associated with a consumer device of the plurality ofconsumer devices.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the presence datais independent of the signal strength values and indicates that thecorresponding consumer device is within the defined physical area. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein the presence data comprises datagenerated via near field communication or Bluetooth wireless technologybetween the merchant device and the first consumer device.
 21. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the presence data comprises promotionredemption data indicating redemption of a promotion, coupon, discountoffer, or any combination thereof within the defined physical area. 22.The method of claim 19, wherein the presence data comprises globalpositioning information (GPS) data.
 23. The method of claim 13, whereinthe at least one in-area service comprises one or more of placing aconsumer associated with the first consumer device on a wait list,assigning the consumer associated with the first consumer device to atable, transmitting a presence-based promotional offer to the firstconsumer device, or dispatching a merchant representative to a locationof the first consumer device.